Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake



I have had this recipe pinned forever and I’m not really sure why it took me so long to make it! I love anything with apples, I like cream cheese, I love to bake Bundt cakes, so what was the problem? I don’t really have an explanation! A colleague at work got a new full time job so she is leaving and I made this cake for her going away party. I asked her what she liked, and she mentioned that she liked cakes with fruit or vegetables (like carrots) so I thought this would fit the bill perfectly.

I do love Bundt cakes and they just aren’t as fragile as layer cakes can be. They also seem to keep a little bit better. I had no problem making this cake one day, making the glaze the next and then taking it to work. I don’t know that I would do that with a layer cake, unless I was sure that it wouldn’t dry out. I had no worries with this cake.

This cake does mess up a number of dishes, but only one bowl that I use for my mixer. I have two bowls for my mixer and I feel compelled to always have one of the bowls clean. What if I get the last minute inspiration to bake and I don’t have a clean bowl? Yikes. I followed this recipe as directed, but I missed that the cream cheese filling wasn’t supposed to touch the sides of the pan. Mine did and it still came out of the pan just fine. The glaze is cooked, which is a little different, and you do have to whisk it quite a bit so it’s smooth. This is a wonderful cake for any fall celebration!

Apple Cream Cheese Bundt Cake
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
   
1 cup finely chopped pecans
3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
3 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups peeled, finely chopped apples
   
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a large Bundt pan.

Make the cream cheese filling: in a large mixer bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until smooth. Add the egg, flour, and vanilla; beat until smooth. Set aside.

Make the cake: toast the pecans in the oven for 8-10 minutes or toast in the microwave. Set aside.
In a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, baking soda, nutmeg and allspice. In a separate bowl combine the eggs, vegetable oil, applesauce and vanilla; whisk to combine. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture and stir with a spatula until combined. The mixture will not be entirely smooth. Stir in the toasted pecans and the apples. 

Spoon two-thirds of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the cream cheese filling over the top and swirl the two batters together with a knife. Top with the remaining cake batter and smooth the top. 

Bake for 60-75 minutes, until a thin knife inserted in the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes and then remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. 

Make the glaze: in a large saucepan combine the brown sugar, butter and milk. Heat on medium high and bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Boil and continue to whisk for one minute and then remove from the heat. Stir in the vanilla and then gradually add the powdered sugar, whisking as you go. Whisk until smooth, about 3 minutes. The glaze with thicken slightly as you whisk. Pour the glaze over the cooled cake. Decorate with pecans, if desired.

Recipe from Southern Living

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